This book serves as a comprehensive guide for using a Nexstar Evolution mount with WiFi SkyPortal control, walking the reader through the process for aligning and operating the system from a tablet or smartphone. The next generation Go-To mount from Celestron, this is compatible not only with the Nextstar Evolution but also with older mounts. It is the ideal resource for anyone who owns, or is thinking of owning, a Nexstar Evolution telescope, or adapting their existing Celestron mount. Pros and cons of the system are thoroughly covered with a critical depth that addresses any possible question by users.

Beginning with a brief history of Go-To telescopes and the genesis of this still new technology, the author covers every aspect of the newly expanding capability in observing. This includes the associated Sky Portal smartphone and tablet application, the transition from the original Nexstar GoTo system to the new SkyPortal system, the use of the Sky Portal application with its Sky Safari 4 basic software and Celestron WiFi adaptations, and discussions on the use of SkyPortal application using the Celestron adapter on older Celestron mounts. Comments and recommendations for equipment enable the reader to successfully use and appreciate the new WiFi capability without becoming overwhelmed. Extensively illustrated using actual screenshots from the program interface, this is the only guide to the Nextstar SkyPortal an observer will need.

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From the Back Cover

This book serves as a comprehensive guide for using a Nexstar Evolution mount with WiFi SkyPortal control, walking the reader through the process for aligning and operating the system from a tablet or smartphone. The next generation Go-To mount from Celestron, this is compatible not only with the Nextstar Evolution but also with older mounts. It is the ideal resource for anyone who owns, or is thinking of owning, a Nexstar Evolution telescope, or adapting their existing Celestron mount. Pros and cons of the system are thoroughly covered with a critical depth that addresses any possible question by users.

Beginning with a brief history of Go-To telescopes and the genesis of this still new technology, the author covers every aspect of the newly expanding capability in observing. This includes the associated Sky Portal smartphone and tablet application, the transition from the original Nexstar GoTo system to the new SkyPortal system, the use of the Sky Portal application with its Sky Safari 4 basic software and Celestron WiFi adaptations, and discussions on the use of SkyPortal application using the Celestron adapter on older Celestron mounts. Comments and recommendations for equipment enable the reader to successfully use and appreciate the new WiFi capability without becoming overwhelmed. Extensively illustrated using actual screenshots from the program interface, this is the only guide to the Nextstar SkyPortal an observer will need.

About the Author

Author – James Chen: Retired Department of the Navy and Federal Aviation Administration Radar and Surveillance Systems Engineer. Former Program Manager for Advanced Navigation and Positioning Corporation. Guest lecturer at local Washington DC/Northern Virginia/Maryland astronomy clubs on amateur astronomy topics of eyepiece design, optical filters, urban and suburban astronomy, and lunar observing. Author of an Astronomy Magazine article on Dobsonian telescope design in November 1989 issue, and contributor to Astronomy Technology Today magazine. First book, published in June 2014 by Springer, entitled How to Find the Apollo Landings Sites. Second book entitled A Guide to the Hubble Space Telescope Objects, is also available from Springer. Third book entitled The Vixen Star Book User Guide, is also available from Springer. Served as a part-time technical and sales consultant for two Washington DC area telescope stores for over 30 years.

Graphics Designer - Adam Chen: Former Program Manager of media support for NASA Headquarters in Washington DC. Creator and executive producer of major NASA publications, including the book and web-book application documenting the history of the Space Shuttle Program “Celebrating 30 Years of the Space Shuttle Program”. Served as graphics designer for all three James L. Chen books. Currently works in marketing for Brown Advisory, an investment firm in Baltimore, MD.

Top customer reviews

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It just general information from the internet, the history of Celestron is not relevant, it duplicates the information in Manual and help menu. There is not advice about using the telescope for astrophotografy. General discussion of Celestron products

Most helpful customer reviews on Amazon.com

Amazon.com:
3.1 out of 5 stars
5 reviews

2.0 out of 5 starsThe graphics was also bad.

ByCephas Limon 11 November 2017 - Published on Amazon.com

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Bought the book as I was interested in the evolution telescope. I realised that the book is very repetitive and the portion where the history of the nexstar scope was given was not detailed. You can find a lot of the information from Celestron's website or cloudy nights. The evolution scope is supposed to be very intuitive, most of the book was stating the obvious such as how to use skyportal,the handcontroller etc. The graphics was also bad.

This book is a major disappointment. It does not live up the standard of other Patrick Moore Astronomy Series books that I have read; it falls far, far short. There are many significant editing errors; for example, incomplete sentences where it is even difficult to determine what the author intended to write. The graphics are abysmal. You can't read the computer screenshots nor the text window of the hand control in the figures.